BY ROSS PRIDDY
PHOTOS BY COURTNEY SEARCY

Paul Taylor is someone who truly cares about this place we call our Jackson home. From his history in Jackson as well as time spent living in other parts of the country, Paul brings a unique perspective and understanding for where we have been as a community and has the vision and skills to help us accomplish better for our community. Paul Taylor is making change in Jackson.

But what does it mean to be a change maker? Many in our community desire change or believe we can do better. Some are even able to go one step further with a dream, a wish, or an idea for how better is possible. But what sets Paul apart is that he is a visionary that can turn ideas into action. The famous Theodore Roosevelt quote is applicable to Paul: “Get action. Do things; be sane; don’t fritter away your time; create, act, take a place wherever you are and be somebody; get action.”

This is evident during his term representing District 6 on the Jackson City Council. Outside of his commitment as a member of the council, Paul spent countless additional hours serving on multiple committees and as a sounding board to many city employees seeking to improve their departments. Most notably, as the chairman of the budget committee he worked to clean up financial issues from years past and worked alongside the city’s staff to put in a 5-year plan to give us the best opportunities for success. Along with others, he helped address challenges that bus riders were facing and helped usher in a new payment system and access to route maps creating a more accessible and usable public transportation system. Paul has always been a proponent of keeping our parks clean and safe. Even after his term on the council has ended he continues to serve on the Recreation and Parks board challenging the status quo and pushing us forward to provide an excellent parks system for all in our community.

This is evident in his service to multiple nonprofits and his willingness to advise many individuals and groups on a myriad of topics. Paul’s service to local nonprofits and organizations ranges from a preschool helping educate and prepare underserved students, to work focused on the economic development and quality of life in downtown, and everything in between. He has volunteered to coach multiple sports teams in our community. He is always willing to offer advice, consulting, and collaboration on projects as small as a neighbor’s home renovation question all the way up to large scale planning for the future of our city and region.

This is evident from his creative solutions as an architect, developer, and businessman. Paul can bring big box retailers, restaurants, or multifamily housing solutions into our community and at the same time has a heart for helping local small businesses find their start. Paul played an influential role in the design and execution of theLOCAL, an incubator for entrepreneurs to get a taste of operating their own retail space by providing micro-retail units with low overhead in Downtown Jackson. There are several businesses that got their start at theLOCAL and are now thriving staples in their own spaces downtown.

Change is never easy. Change makers are risk takers. Change makers are generous with their time, talent, and resources. Change makers are sometimes misunderstood. It is rare to find individuals in a community who can both see opportunities and can navigate the challenges to make those opportunities a reality in moving a community forward.

Paul has the knowledge to understand some of our most challenging problems. He has the talent and passion required to take steps towards solutions to those problems. He understands the nuances of our community and can hear all sides of an issue before moving forward. He will not dwell for too long though before moving the group he is leading towards actionable change.

Paul is an advocate for change and continues to make change, not simply for the sake of change but because he understands where we have opportunities for growth, and he leads us by taking practical steps forward. He believes we can be better. He has in the past and continues advocating for and acting to shape the future of our community.

ROSS PRIDDY is a Mortgage Loan Officer with Leaders Credit Union and a former Jackson City Councilman. He was born and raised in Jackson. He met his wife, Laura, one summer in Colorado before both ended up attending Middle Tennessee State University. After college, they lived in New Jersey for five years and returned to Jackson as a family in the fall of 2013. Together they are raising their three boys, Jack (13), Thaddaeus (11), and Owen (7) and trying to figure out what it means to live in a place while trying to make positive change both big and small.

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